Chapter 7 – Sleeping in a Bed

A large shadow descends upon Senna when she enters the house.

“Where is he!?” The man yells angrily as he grabs Senna’s shoulders. Senna flinches at the sudden contact looking up, but relaxes seeing Russell’s face.

“Who? Davor?” Senna tilts her head questioningly.

“Not him! Where’s that bastard that scarred you!?” Russell yells.

“Scarred? What do you…Ahh! You mean my former master.” Senna sighs realizing what they’re discussing.

“Yes!! Him!! Tell me where he is!! I’ll rip him to shreds!!” Russell’s wrath is at full power as he paces back and forth yelling.

“I don’t know. I have no idea how I got from my previous location to this city. Plus, it’s not really important anymore.” Senna answers calmly.

“Of course it’s important. Some bastard killed my daughter’s family and made her a slave. I need to show him hell!!” Russell’s rage continues to rise higher and higher as he thinks about Senna’s background.

“Dear, calm down.” Leah rushes in from the backroom.

“I can’t calm down! When I think about what he did!!” (Russell)

Senna sighs and taps Russell’s shoulder. {I guess I should be happy that he’s treating me like his daughter already.} When Russell turns back to Senna, she lightly pokes him in the forehead. “Please calm down, D-Dad. It’s in the past now. I would rather move on rather than think about it anymore. It is still really painful remembering what happened.”

Russell’s demeanor quickly returns to normal when he hears her call him ‘Dad. “But…”

“The people that rescued me. They told me that they would have the po…local guards come and get him locked up in the worst possible dungeon… It’s already fine not to do anything.” Senna holds his hand and consoles him.

All the rage seeps out of him as he finally relaxes. “…Fine. We won’t talk about it again.” Russell sits down at a nearby chair.

“If you’re this angry from hearing the story, I shouldn’t show D-Dad the scars on my body.” Senna replies still stuttering with addressing him so familiarly.

“That’s true. Anahid’s clan has some people that specialize in healing magic. They can help erase those terrible scars.” Leah suggests.

“Um…” Senna takes out the book from her [Storage]. “I actually want to do my best to fix it myself. I want to use my own strength to fix it.”

“Are you sure? It will be hard to learn to the point that you can erase scars.” Leah comments.

Senna thinks to herself. “M-Mom, you know how to use magic?”

Leah turns ecstatic as she hugs Senna. “Of course dear. I used to be an adventurer too. Your father is an A rank adventurer just like Anahid.”

“That girl’s already surpassed me. If you’re learning how to be an adventurer, you should get help from her.” (Russell)

“I plan to study first, but I’ll be sure to ask her if I need help.” Senna replies. “Also, I sold off a piece of jewelry I had. Would you like some of the money as payment?”

“No dear. It’s your money. You keep it.” (Leah)

Senna reluctantly nods. “I understand. I just hope I didn’t use too much of the family’s money for all those clothes.”

“It’s covered.” Russell responds grimly.

“That’s right dear. We’re family now. Don’t worry about owing money.” (Leah)

After a knock on the door, Anahid enters the room. “I’m back.”

“Welcome back.” The three of them respond.

“Senna, you’re back already?” (Anahid)

“Yes.” (Senna)

“How was your shopping trip with Davor?” Anahid’s voice drops an octave when she mentions Davor.

“Good.” Senna recounts the places they visited, but she gives vague descriptions about the items she purchased. She also reports on the apprenticeship with Arnost.

“That’s a surprise. That stubborn old goat actually accepted you as an apprentice?” Anahid comments with a wry smile.

“I agree. I thought he would take his skills to the grave.” Russell adds.

“Make sure to work hard if you’re his apprentice now.” (Leah)

“Yes!” Senna nods.

“Did anything else happen?” (Anahid)

“Mmm…Not happened, but I wanted to consult with you about something.” (Senna)

“Oh? What?” (Anahid)

“Well…about Davor… he gave off indications that he was interested in me…” Senna’s eyes shift around avoiding eye contact with Anahid.

“Did he do something?” Anahid tightly grips Senna’s shoulders with a stern gaze.

“No, no, I was just guessing. He was very nervous and blushing a lot in the beginning.” (Senna)

“Good.” Anahid relaxes her grip. “So what about Davor?”

“Because of my past… It’s not really possible to think about anything like a relationship with a man right now. It wouldn’t be right to let him develop feelings when it’s impossible for me to think about such things. I’ve never been in a relationship, so I don’t know what I should do. Should I just tell him that or would it be better to ignore any advances if they appear?” (Senna)

“I think Davor’s strong enough that you can clearly state that relationships are impossible. Make sure you’re clear with your response though. It would be a problem if he becomes distracted during a job.” (Anahid)

“Understood. If he wanted to use my body, I wouldn’t care. But it’s probably too disgusting for him to enjoy.” Senna’s thoughts go off on a random tangent as she talks.

“No!” “Not happening!” Leah and Russell yell out.

“You shouldn’t tell him that.” Anahid replies sternly.

“I know. Just my honest thoughts. Thank you for the advice.” Senna reflexively bows.

“You don’t have to bow, you know. We’re sisters now.” (Anahid)

“Sorry. It’s a reflex.” Senna wryly smiles. “I’m going to rest a bit.”

“Okay. If you need any help, just tell me.” (Anahid)

“Yes. Thank you.” Senna replies brightly. Leah shows Senna to her room on the second floor. “Thank you, M-mom.”

“Of course dear.” Leah replies shutting the door.

Senna breathes a sigh of relief that she finally has some time to herself. She stares at the bed with a grim expression. She sits on the bed, but immediately starts to shake violently. She jumps off the bed shivering. Senna turns around and sighs deeply. “I guess it’s still impossible.”

Senna lays on the ground bringing up her [Status]

StatusNameSennaLevel4 (+1)RaceHumanAge14 years oldHP610 (+100)MP375 (+75)Strength75 (+10)Endurance75 (+10)Agility72 (+12)Dexterity75 (+10)Intelligence75 (+15)Wisdom82 (+17)Luck80 (+10)SkillsKatana Lv. 1

Dagger Lv. 1

Martial Arts Lv. 4 (+1)

All Elemental Proficiency Lv. 1

- Fire Lv. 1

- Water Lv. 1

- Wind Lv. 1

- Earth Lv. 1

- Lightning Lv. 1

- Light Lv. 1

- Dark Lv. 1

- Null Lv. 1

Magic Spell Proficiency Lv. 1

Magic Power Lv. 2 (+1)

Magic Manipulation Lv. 2 (+1)

Detection Skills Lv. 1

-Presence Lv. 4 (+1)

-Magic Lv. 2 (+1)

-Enemy Lv. 3 (+1)

-Danger Lv. 3 (+1)

Tactics Lv. 3

3 Dimensional Movement Lv. 1

Parry Lv. 1

Identification Lv. 5 (+1)

Self-Recovery Lv. 3

Disguise Lv. 1

Keen Sight Lv. 4 (+1)

Hawk Eyes Lv. 4 (+1)

Poison Resistance Lv. 7

Mind Resistance Lv. 7

Disease Resistance Lv. 3 (+1)

Paralysis Resistance Lv. 3

Petrification Resistance Lv. 4

Storage Lv. Max

Reading Lv. 5

Improved Memory Lv. 5 (+1)

Persuasion Lv. 3 (+2)

Bartering Lv. 3 (+2)

Appraisal Lv. Max

Arithmetic Lv. Max

Experimentation Lv. Max

Language Comprehension Lv. Max

Poker Face Lv. 5 (+1)

Etiquette Lv. Max

Survival Lv. 5 (+1)

Cooking Lv. 1

Specialized Growth Lv. 5 (+1)

Blood Manipulation Lv. Max

Last Stand Lv. Max

Soul Engraving Lv. Max

Concealed Status Lv. 5 (+1)

Skill Development Lv. 5 (+1)

{So high. My looks more and more ridiculous the more I look at it. I’m glad I was able to hide the skill level messages when I was fighting. All these increases would affect my vision. I should keep it hidden I guess.} Senna closes her status and takes out one of the books she borrowed. “Time to learn how to read.”

She flips through the book reading it from cover to cover. Senna finishes all of the children’s books she borrowed in the course of the hour. Someone raps on the door. “Come in~”

“Senna, time for dinner.” Anahid walks into the room. She freezes when she sees Senna sprawled on the wooden floor with the lower half of Senna’s body hidden under the bed. “Why are you on the floor like that?”

“Getting comfortable?” (Senna)

“Why not use the bed?” (Anahid)

“Ahh…I can’t sleep on a bed.” Senna scratches her cheek as she awkwardly responds.

“Why?” Anahid asks feeling more and more confused.

“I’ve never slept on a bed before, only on the floor. I had to be on the bed for sex, but kicked to the floor when he wanted to sleep. Because of that, I can’t really think of a bed as a place to sleep.” Senna answers calmly.

Anahid groans hearing the reason. “I keep revising my opinion of how large of an asshole this guy is with each thing you tell me.”

“Sorry.” Senna replies moving her gaze away.

“It’s not your fault.” Anahid honestly replies. “But you’re not a slave anymore. You should try and adjust to sleeping on a bed.”

“…I’ll do my best.” Senna shows an uneasy expression at the idea.

“Okay. Let’s go eat.” Anahid helps Senna up from under the bed.

Later that night, Senna gradually reads that she obtained from Arnost. Though difficult, her [Identification] skill helps fill in the blanks for the words and grammar that she doesn’t understand yet. She finishes half of the book before going to bed.

Senna stares at the bed with extreme reluctance. Senna jumps into bed and forces herself to lie down. {Can I really do this?} She starts shivering as the feel of the bed sheets is transmitted to her skin. Wrapping her body with the blanket, she forces herself to sleep.

Two hours pass and everyone in the home has fallen asleep. “AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” A loud shriek shatters the silence.

Leah, Russell and Anahid burst into the room. “What’s wrong?!” Russell yells out. Their gazes lock onto Senna thrashing about on the bed. They hold her body down to prevent her from thrashing about. “Oi! Senna!! What happened?!” He yells at Senna again. Senna continues to struggle and scream at the top of her lungs. Her eyes are open, but gaze remains blank. The three of them call her name without receiving any response. Leah leaves the room returning with a bucket full of water. She pours the water directly on Senna.

“Puha! *Cough* *Cough* Hah…ha…ha…” Senna chokes on some of the water as her body is roused from her nightmare. She groggily looks around focusing her vision and sees everyone gathered. She looks at herself dripping wet. “I did something didn’t I?”

“You were screaming like a banshee. We had to force you awake.” Anahid answers.

“…I’m sorry…” Senna meekly apologizes.

“It’s fine. What happened?” Russell lets out a sigh of relief seeing Senna acting normally.

“I had a dream about when my former master wanted to heavily stab me during intercourse.” Senna answers.

“Ugh. Is this because of the bed?” Anahid groans.

“Maybe...” Senna sneezes. “I’m going to dry off.”

“I’ll help you dear.” Leah follows Senna as she leaves the room. Anahid and Russell start drying off the excess water.

“What’s this about the bed?” Russell asks. Anahid recounts what she heard from Senna. The edge of the bed starts cracking from his grip. “What the hell!?”

“Sorry. It’s my fault for disturbing you.” Senna appears back in the room with a towel on her head. “I should have started slower instead of just jumping on the bed.”

“That’s not what I’m mad about!” Russell inadvertently yells.

“I just need some more time to get over it. Can we just… leave it alone? I want to rest.” Senna pleads.

“Grr…Fine go to bed. We’ll talk about it in the morning.” Russell reluctantly relents and heads back to his room.

Anahid gets up and starts to leave the room. “Senna.”

“Yes?” (Senna)

“How can you… smile so brightly after everything you’ve been through?” Anahid hesitantly asks the question that has constantly been going through her mind.

“Hm? Um…” Senna thinks about her answer carefully. “I lived that entire time accepting my fate. I was ready for my life to come to an end. Now that I’ve escaped I couldn’t be happier. That’s why I want to focus on enjoying myself and forget about my past.”

“……I see. Sorry for asking a stupid question.” Anahid replies with a bitter expression. Her face is a bit warped in anger towards herself. The answer was so comparably simple, but she still had to dredge up the terrible topic for her own curiosity.

“Good night.” Senna replies with a calm smile.

“…Good night.” (Anahid)

Senna lights a candle knowing she won’t be able to sleep again after that. She takes out the Apothecary book and continues to read into the night.

***

The next day, the topic about Senna’s past comes up, but Anahid stops Russell from pursuing the matter any further. He reluctantly drops the topic. Senna uses the time to quickly eat and head off to the Apothecary. Arnost welcomes her into the shop. He starts to teach her how to make medicines, but Senna surprises him by reciting information from the book.

Arnost decides to challenge Senna by making a Basic Potion on her own which she accepts easily. Though clumsy, she makes a Basic potion with her [Experimentation] skill unconsciously correcting her work.

Basic Potion (Intermediate Grade)

Rank: E

A potion for beginners to heal minor cuts and wounds. Average quality medicine.

Sales value: 10 Triton

Selling Value: 5 Triton

Arnost stares at the potion in astonishment. Potions have a rank following the F-S ranking system, but it is also graded from Basic to Master (like the Elemental Potential ranking, minus the God rank) depending on the quality of the potion. Most apprentices fail multiple times making a new potion for the first time because of the unfamiliarity with the recipe. Yet Senna completed it on her first try. Arnost makes the decision to teach Senna everything he knows.

Author's Note

Chapter 7! The ending is quite rushed, I know. I originally did a minor crafting scene, but I wanted to get the story moving while still touching base with abilities that Senna picks up.